Christmas crackdown on town centre crime

Oldham Police launch their Christmas shoplifting and safety campaign in Oldham Town Centre. PIC shows back L-R: Sgt Danny Atherton, PCSO Sue Pealin, PC Zahid Iqbal, Sara Hewitt (Town Centre Manager), PC Damieon Hartley-Pickles, Constable Cub.Front are robbers from Oldham Theatre Workshop.

OLDHAM Police are urging people to stay safe as they combat criminal activity in the town centre over the festive period.

During the Christmas period the town centre experiences a higher footfall of shoppers and yesterday police in the borough launched their "Don't Lose to Scrooge" campaign to tackle shoplifting and ensure personal safety.

Police convened in the town centre to kick-start the campaign where they gave advice on personal safety and handed out purse bells and ultraviolet marker pens so people can tag personal items such as mobile phones.

Throughout the initiative, officers will be running high-visibility patrols in the town centre to reassure the public while maintaining radio contact with retailers and CCTV operators to prevent shoplifting and pickpocketing.

On weekends and Thursday late shopping nights there will be more officers in the town centre - including those undercover.

Police have run the campaign for the last couple of years which has been successful as police say they see a noticeable drop in crime figures.

As part of the operation, police are advising people visiting the centre to park in secure, well-lit areas, not to leave gifts on show and always lock the car.

Furthermore, they say shoppers should be aware of their surroundings and keep wallets and other valuables out of sight in an inside zipped or buttoned pocket while handbags should be fastened and carried with the strap across the body rather than over the shoulder.

Police are also urging those using a cash point to cover their pin.

Sergeant Danny Atherton, of the Oldham Central Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: He said: "We have done the operation for the last couple of years and the crime figures do drop, so we can see a noticeable difference."